In his final report to the UN, Philip Alston, the former Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and...
Poverty measurement
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29/05/2013
Global poverty estimates – problems and solutions
Counting the number of people living in poverty worldwide is difficult, says a new paper, but there are a number of things that can be done to improve the quality of data.
The paper comes from an independent organisation focusing on the analysis and use of data for the elimination of absolute poverty. It explains how global poverty numbers are obtained; explores weaknesses in the data; and describes the underlying constraints on improving data. It concludes by looking at solutions to these problems, as well as changes in the scope of, and demand for, poverty data.Category: Reports -
27/05/2013
Distributional impact of public services in Europe
Estimates of poverty for particular household types are significantly altered when account is taken of the distributional impact of public services, according to a new working paper prepared by Eurostat, the European Commission's statistical body.
The paper examines the impact of including the value of public healthcare, long-term care, education and childcare in estimates of income inequality and financial poverty in 23 European countries.Category: Reports -
24/05/2013
Comparing poverty exposure in Europe
Some 'encouraging' results have been reported from attempts to compare people's exposure to poverty across different European countries, says a paper from Eurostat, the European Commission's statistical body.
The paper describes methodological work aimed at matching expenditure data (from the Household Budget Survey – HBS) with income and material deprivation data (from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions – EU-SILC). It attempts to do this using 2005 data for the UK.Category: Reports -
20/05/2013
Small-area measures of income poverty
Some of the difficulties of measuring poverty at the small-area level have been highlighted in a new paper from the LSE's Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. The paper's author cautiously suggests a system of proxies based on benefits data as the most promising way forward.
The paper is the latest from the 'Social Policy in a Cold Climate' research programme, examining the effects of the major economic and political changes in the UK since 2007 – particularly on the distribution of wealth, poverty, inequality and spatial difference.Category: Reports -
22/04/2013
‘Risk of confusion’ over child poverty measurement
Coalition proposals to change the way child poverty is measured risk creating confusion, the independent Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission has warned.
The government-appointed body was responding to a consultation document in which ministers proposed moving away from measuring child poverty purely by reference to income.Category: Reports -
22/04/2013
Multi-dimensional deprivation in Ireland
Over 29 per cent of children aged nine in Ireland suffer from multi-dimensional deprivation, according to a new analysis from University College Dublin. 20 per cent are deprived on grounds of low income. Rates of deprivation on other dimensions range from 10 per cent (delinquent behaviour) to 25.2 per cent (overweight or obese).
The researchers made use of the nine-year-old wave of the Growing Up in Ireland study to analyse multi-dimensional deprivation. Their approach involves a 'censoring' of data such that deprivations count only for those above the specified multi-dimensional threshold. This leads, they say, to a stronger set of inter-relationships between deprivation dimensions than that found under alternative approaches.Category: Reports -
16/04/2013
A more unequal country?
Stewart Lansley and Joanna Mack explore the trends in inequality and poverty pre and post the Thatcher years and find inequality grew sharply in the years after 1979. Add your comments to the debate.
Category: Articles -
05/04/2013
Links between housing and poverty highlighted
Policy-makers need to pay closer attention to links between housing and poverty, according to a new study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that looks at how housing can mitigate or exacerbate the impact of poverty on people’s lives.
Category: Reports -
27/03/2013
Global distribution of multi-dimensional poverty
Only a quarter of the world's multi-dimensionally poor people, and just a third of those who are severely multi-dimensionally poor, live in the world’s poorest countries. That's the conclusion of a new paper from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, which has pioneered the use of multi-dimensional poverty indices that measure not just living standards but also factors such as health and education.
Category: Reports -
17/03/2013
Measuring poverty in the EU
Observed patterns of poverty in Europe are strongly affected by the way they are measured, says a new paper from an EU-funded research project. The authors look at different poverty measures, including those applied in the EU's social strategy, and how they affect the results derived for poverty between 2005 and 2009.
Category: Reports
